Surrounded by protesters and working on a tight timeline, lawmakers poured back into the Tennessee State Capitol Tuesday for a special session to redraw the state’s congressional maps.
Gov. Bill Lee called the fifth special session of his tenure on Friday, urging the Republican supermajority to rewrite the district maps to break up the state’s only Democratic stronghold — the 9th Congressional District, which contains Memphis.
The special session follows a social media post from President Donald Trump last week, in which the president said he would like to see Tennessee become fully Republican — a reaction to Wednesday's U.S. Supreme Court decision dealing a blow to the 1965 Voting Rights Act. SCOTUS ruled in Louisiana v. Callais that it’s illegal to draw congressional maps based on race.
State House Speaker Cameron Sexton exits the House chamber, May 5, 2026
The state House and Senate gaveled into session without much fanfare, making committee assignments but not yet sharing any redrawn maps. Rep. Andrew Farmer (R-Sevierville), chair of the House Congressional Redistricting Committee, told the Scene maps circulating on the internet are not accurate — Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) and House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) have not yet drawn a map consulting constitutional law and legal experts.
“Right now, I think they are in negotiations,” Farmer said. “They are wanting to make sure whatever map that is produced is constitutional, and more importantly, doesn’t discriminate against anybody.”
Tensions ran high in the Senate Tuesday, where one protester was removed from the gallery. The Senate’s six Democrats gave passionate speeches against the special session.
Sen. London Lamar speaks against congressional redistricting on the Senate floor, May 5, 2026
“Intentionally breaking state law to take my community’s vote is downright disgusting and offensive,” said Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis).
“We're bearing witness to what's happening,” Senate Minority Leader Ramuesh Akbari (D-Memphis) told the Scene. “History is on our side. It is significant that people are here, standing up and fighting for their rights. If [the Republican supermajority does] this, they will not be allowed to do it in the dark. We will shine the light of truth on it."
Scholars in Nashville note that this week’s events will be historic, saying Gov. Lee’s actions could amount to a “shameful chapter” in the state’s history and democratic process.
“I went and cast my vote today, as I have in every single election since I was honorably discharged from the USAF after serving in a war zone,” Tennessee State University professor Learotha Williams told the Scene, acknowledging Tuesday’s Metro Nashville primary elections. “I voted knowing the Tennessee General Assembly was meeting today, at that very hour, to undermine the voting strength of people who looked like me in West Tennessee.”
House Committee on Rules
Emotions ran high in a Tuesday meeting over the rules for how the House would conduct itself throughout the special session.
Protesters and elected officials rally outside the state Capitol, May 5, 2026
The legislature is in what’s called “flow motion,” meaning committees and passages of bills are done at an expedited speed.
State Reps. Karen Camper (D-Memphis), Johnny Shaw (D-Bolivar) and Justin Jones (D-Nashville) all presented rules for how they would like to see the session go. The House Democrats’ proposed rules included requiring more notice to the public, holding public hearings on maps in each of the state’s three Grand Divisions and allowing more debate time on the House floor.
Republicans quietly voted down the measures without much argument. Camper pushed for those who came to speak to be able to testify even if protesters caused the room to be cleared. Farmer told the Scene that clearing the room would be “the nuclear option” during this special session.
In Tuesday’s committee, House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) warned the crowd several times to stay in order to avoid clearing the room.
“Obviously, today there were kind of touch-and-go times, but it’s OK,” Farmer said. “That’s fine. We don’t need people getting up and yelling to where we can’t hear. We want to express our opinions in the ways we can. We want to depend on the folks that we’ve elected to voice our opinions because we have the microphone. People just need to behave.”
What Bills Have Been Filed?
Lawmakers filed six bills Monday, but no additional bills Tuesday.
House Bill 7001 would remove the residency requirement for the 2026 primary election, which includes candidates for the current election season. This legislation could also translate to more appointment power for political parties, given the pace of how the districts could change.
House Bills 7002, 7003 and 7004 would prepare the state statute to redraw the congressional maps. This would allow lawmakers to redraw the map, even though it’s not following a federal census, which is when the last redistricting efforts took place.
HB 7005 would pay for the special session, which is expected to last through Thursday. That would mean paying for lawmakers to conduct business for three days, assuming the session doesn’t stretch into Friday. In the 2023 special session on public safety following the Covenant School shooting, each day cost taxpayers about $60,000 — including per diem pay for each lawmaker and transportation. With gas hovering near $4 per gallon, figures could change from those of three years ago.
The session’s lone Democratic bill, sponsored by House Democratic Caucus Chair John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville), would redraw the congressional map to resemble one from 2020. Clemmons would make Nashville whole again, rather than split between the 5th, 6th and 7th Congressional Districts. The legislation would also place the majority of Memphis in the 9th Congressional District as its own voting bloc.
Members of the Tennessee Highway Patrol hold back protesters attempting to block lawmakers' entrance to the state Capitol, May 5, 2026
Protests Abound
As lawmakers arrived at the Capitol Tuesday, protesters were waiting for them.
Though there were no arrests, protesters attempted to block the entrance to the lawmakers’ garage as members of the Tennessee Highway Patrol parted the crowd to make way for cars time and again. Grace Wegner told the Scene she showed up to protest because she thinks redistricting will disenfranchise more voters across the state.
“This eliminates Black and brown representation in Memphis,” Wegner said. “This will affect the entirety of the state, because they have to redraw the whole map. It’s unjust. It’s racist, and it’s wrong.”
Odessa Kelly — a political organizer and former Democratic candidate in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District — held a bullhorn, leading the crowd in chants.
“The benefits of passing the Voting Rights Act — it helped everyone,” Kelly told the Scene. “It helped every American in this country have a better quality of life. And what I won’t do is sit by quietly, idly by, and let them think it's OK for them to take us back into a time of Jim Crow.”
Kelly noted the nationwide implications of redistricting, as other states contemplate redrawing their own congressional maps.
“We know this is a hard hill to climb, but hopefully also, if we're the first on the chopping block, we can be an inspiration to other states too,” she said.
Protesters outside the state Capitol, May 5, 2026
Longtime organizer Pratik Dash, senior director with Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, said moments like these require people to continue showing up.
“This special session is not just a moment,” said Dash. “We have to continue this pressure. This is the beginning of a redistricting fight. We are going to keep this pressure all the way on until 2030. This is just a spark in a moment that we are going to push forward. That is why we need to keep sustained pressure not only on this week, but for years and years to come.”
Some lawmakers have said protests aren’t going to sway their decisions. Rep. Brock Martin (R-Huntington) told the Scene that the protests don't change his views on redistricting — something he said he's not sure about yet, citing the lack of a map.
"This is their right to be here, and to stand up and have a voice," Martin said. "I'm from West Tennessee, so I've got to wait and see how the map looks and how it plays out. We've got a great congressman currently in my district, and I really like what he's doing, so I'd really hate to lose him based on how it could fall out. So we'll have to see how it plays out and speak to my people back home."
Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell speaks to protesters at the state Capitol, May 5, 2026
Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell was among attendees at the protest, joining along in the rally’s chants. He told the Scene Tuesday that the 2022 redrawing of Tennessee’s maps, which stripped Nashville of a Democratic congressional seat, motivated him to show up to the protest.
“We've already been through a version of this, and it'd be especially tragic to watch something similar happen in Memphis, where they have one of the only majority-minority districts that could represent something like this,” O’Connell said. “I'm worried that this special session will even further weaken representation and make it even likelier that we have congressional representation that is actively adverse to the interests of Nashvillians.”
Rep. Justin Pearson weeps alongside his mother while looking at a sculpture depicting African American men casting ballots after winning the right to vote, May 5, 2026
Congressional Impact
U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen and state Rep. Justin Pearson — both Memphis Democrats — made impassioned speeches that their district should remain the same.
Both men are running for Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District, and the special session could affect their primary. Cohen — the district’s longtime representative — is expected to testify in House and Senate committees this week.
“This is taking my district and turning it from what it’s been, which has been a strong African American district for African Americans to choose the representative of their choice,” Cohen told the Scene. “It’s a tremendous loss to Memphis. It’s a tremendous loss to African American voters. It’s a tremendous loss to help people in need. I am seeing my city be hurt, my city being damaged.”
U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen speaks to protesters outside the state Capitol, May 5, 2026
Pearson shared similar sentiments, saying it will take all of the South to fight against what he called oppression from President Donald Trump and his administration — attempts to take away 24 Democratically held U.S. House seats in the region.
“We have to keep marching anyway,” Pearson cheered to the crowd outside the Capitol. “If we keep pressing, if we keep fighting, then this will be a better world than this one. That’s the message to the Republican party. That’s the message to that racist, white supremacist President Donald Trump. That we will fight.”
Rep. Johnny Garrett (R-Goodlettsville) faces a similar conundrum. He’s running in the Republican primary for Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District — which could also be redrawn. He said members in this situation don’t have to abstain from voting on the new maps.
“I think anytime we can pick up a Republican seat, it’s good for the state of Tennessee,” Garrett told the Scene. “I am 100 percent supportive of whatever map that we have that comes out. This isn’t about me. This is about saving America and saving Tennessee. If we can pick up a Republican seat, I am all for it.”
This article is published as a partnership between sister publications the Nashville Scene, the Nashville Post and the Williamson Scene. Hamilton Matthew Masters and Hannah Herner contributed reporting.
